P5530

LPN Staffing Shortages in Facility

Quality Life Services - New CastleNew Castle, Pennsylvania Survey Completed on 01-03-2025

Summary

The facility failed to meet the required staffing ratios for Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) as mandated by regulations effective July 1, 2023. Specifically, the facility did not maintain a minimum of one LPN per 25 residents during the day shift on December 10, 2024, when only 5.00 LPNs were available for a census of 132 residents, falling short of the required 5.28 LPNs. Additionally, the facility did not meet the minimum requirement of one LPN per 40 residents on the overnight shift for five days within the reviewed period. On December 3, 6, 7, 10, and 14, 2024, the number of LPNs working was consistently below the required number based on the resident census for each of those nights. The Nursing Home Administrator confirmed these staffing shortages during an interview on January 3, 2025.

Plan Of Correction

The facility was unable to make corrective action for the (Licensed Practical Nurse ratio) for identified days that have already passed. All residents received care in accordance with their care plans and physician orders. Director of nursing or designee will re-educate the labor manager and the RN supervisors on the 7/1/2024 Licensed Practical Nurse ratio requirements. Facility continues to offer incentives, competitive wages, and several other benefits in an effort to hire for all open positions. Nursing Home Administrator, Director of Nursing, and Labor manager will conduct daily staffing meetings Monday - Friday to review (Licensed Practical Nurse ratios) throughout the day, the following day, and the weekend. In the event of vacancies, the Labor Manager or designee will follow staffing policies including offering open shifts to internal staff, contracted agency staff, and offering current staff to stay extra or start earlier. Nursing Home Administrator or designee will audit daily staffing ratios along with all steps taken to fill vacancies 5 days a week and ongoing. Results of the audits will be reviewed and recorded in the monthly Quality Assurance Performance Improvement meeting.

Penalty

No penalty information released
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The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.
See other P5530 citations
Failure to Meet Minimum LPN Staffing Requirements on Day and Evening Shifts
P5530
Short Summary

Administrative staff did not ensure required LPN coverage on certain day and evening shifts, as shown by a comparison of nursing time schedules and census data. On one day shift, the number of LPN hours worked was below what was required for the number of residents present, and on one evening shift, LPN hours were again below the mandated minimum. The DON confirmed that minimum LPN staffing requirements were not met on these shifts.

No penalty information released
tooltip icon
The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.
Failure to Maintain Required LPN Day-Shift Staffing Ratios
P5530
Short Summary

Surveyors determined that the facility did not maintain the required minimum of one LPN per 25 residents on several day shifts during multiple reviewed weeks. Review of staffing records showed that on multiple identified days, the number of LPNs scheduled on day shift was insufficient for the resident census. In an interview, the NHA acknowledged that the required LPN staffing ratios were not met on those days.

No penalty information released
tooltip icon
The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.
Failure to Maintain Required LPN-to-Resident Staffing Ratios Across Multiple Shifts
P5530
Short Summary

Surveyors found that the facility did not maintain required LPN-to-resident staffing ratios on multiple day, evening, and night shifts. Review of census data and nursing schedules showed that the number of LPNs providing care on several day shifts was slightly below the minimum required based on the census, and at least one evening and one night shift were also understaffed. There were no additional higher-level staff available to offset these LPN shortfalls, and the Administrator confirmed that required LPN staffing ratios were not met on the identified shifts.

No penalty information released
tooltip icon
The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.
Failure to Maintain Required LPN-to-Resident Staffing Ratios on Multiple Shifts
P5530
Short Summary

The facility did not maintain the required LPN-to-resident staffing ratios on several shifts, as shown by a review of weekly staffing records and staff interviews. On four of twenty-one shifts reviewed, the number of LPNs on duty was below the mandated minimum based on the census, including day shifts where LPN coverage was slightly under the required level and a night shift with no LPN coverage at all. No additional higher-level nursing staff were present to offset these shortages, and the administrator acknowledged that required LPN-to-resident ratios were not met on the identified shifts.

No penalty information released
tooltip icon
The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.
Failure to Meet Minimum LPN Staffing Ratios
P5530
Short Summary

The facility did not meet the required minimum LPN-to-resident ratios on several day and evening shifts, as shown by a review of nursing schedules. On multiple occasions, there were not enough LPNs scheduled to meet the mandated ratios for the number of residents present.

No penalty information released
tooltip icon
The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.
Failure to Meet Minimum LPN Staffing Requirements
P5530
Short Summary

The facility did not provide the required minimum number of LPNs on several day and night shifts, as shown by a review of staffing schedules and census data. The Nursing Home Administrator confirmed that LPN staffing levels fell below regulatory requirements on these occasions.

No penalty information released
tooltip icon
The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.
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